It is common practice in the data processing industry and especially in the personal computer industry to preload operating system and application software onto an individual system as part of the manufacturing process. In the past, the relatively small number of different operating systems available for use with a personal computer meant that a high degree of standardization was possible in the manufacturing process. As personal computer systems have become more powerful and therefore capable of using a larger number of different and more sophisticated operating systems and application software, the manufacturing process has to be able to manage a larger number of possible system software configurations. This complexity becomes even greater in today's manufacturing environment wherein the end-user of the system is able to specify in greater detail the exact system configuration required including what software is to be preloaded onto his system. Therefore, the software preload stage of the manufacturing process has to be able to handle a manufacturing environment where each system is potentially unlike any other system in terms of installed software.
Preloading is conventionally carried out using a server based system wherein the server holds the images or all the different types and flavors (e.g. different language versions) of software available for loading. Each individual computer system is connected to the server via an adapter (token ring emulator) and a diskette is loaded with data used to define the software to be loaded onto that system. The major drawbacks with this mode of operation are in the initial cost of the server hardware and also in the ongoing costs of operating and maintaining the server. Furthermore, the process of creating and maintaining software images requires significant effort in terms of skill and manpower.
A number of different schemes have been proposed for installing software onto computer systems in a network. In one known scheme, automatic installation of Solaris software onto chosen systems in a network and also onto a standalone computer system is achieved according to a so-called Custom JumpStart Installation. In the case of software installation onto the hardfile of a standalone system having a diskette drive and a local CD-ROM drive, a diskette is employed to hold the required installation files. A CD carries the Solaria software, a selection of which is to be installed on the system. In brief, after the system boots, the Solaria installation program uses a profile selected from a number of different profiles on the diskette to automatically install the required Solaris software from the CD onto the system hardfile. This form of installation is designed to be employed at the user site and not at the point of manufacture. Furthermore, this technique does not allow for the installation of other software e.g. application software. In addition, this installation method requires every machine's hardware specification to be identical.
What is needed is a simpler method for preloading selected software which reduces costs and also dovetails easily into other steps of the manufacturing process.